Our survival can not depend on AI. On Wednesday, December 25. 2025 The Federalist ran an article headlined, “Artificial Intelligence In The Classroom Destroys Actual Intelligence In Students.”
I always assumed that before AI destroyed our humanity, we’d at least put up a fight. No, I’m not talking about AI gaining consciousness and physically enslaving us (though I’m certainly not ruling that out as a possibility) — but it is alarming how quick many are to accept AI usage not just in their daily lives, but in education.
As an educator, I’ve heard high school teachers and college professors alike defend teaching AI usage in the classroom: “The technology isn’t going away, so kids have to learn how to use it responsibly.” “AI can be a useful tool.” “Learning how to write the right prompts is a marketable skill.” They say we should not only allow but encourage students to use AI to brainstorm ideas, write outlines, and provide feedback on their work.
On the surface, these suggestions can seem benign. Our society is pushing the idea that AI usage is not only inevitable but good. “You’re a writer,” a silky tone on an advertisement for AI software sings, “even if you are the kind who relies on AI.” Okay, so that’s not the exact verbiage, but that’s the idea we’re being sold. We’re reassured that AI can simply be a legitimate “tool.” You are a writer even if you use an AI generator. You are an artist just by instructing prompts. You are a creator, although it’s the algorithms doing the creating.
If the goal is simply to produce outcomes, one could argue that AI usage should not just be tolerated but encouraged. But education shouldn’t be about producing outcomes – whether it be a sparkling essay or a gripping short story – but shaping souls. The purpose of writing isn’t to instruct a prompt or even to produce a quality paper. The purpose is to become a strong thinker and someone who enriches the lives of everyone, no matter their profession.
“When most people hear of AI possibly destroying America, or our civilization as a whole, they probably picture some crazed computer monster stalking down people and killing them with death rays or some other futuristic weapon. But that isn’t the case, it will be by our own hand.” said Thomas Robb, National Director of the Knights Party of the Ku Klux Klan, based centrally in Harrison, Arkansas. “Back in the mid 1970’s watch maker Pulsar came out with the very first calculator/wristwatch. This made math in the school rooms almost impossible for elementary students to fail. For parents who could afford them, because they were quite expensive because of being brand new technology, younger kids in lower grades taking simple math classes felt more intelligent because teachers didn’t really expect a child to be wearing a calculator on their wrist and so the kids were able to use them. Fast-forward to today’s technology, kids in any grade don’t need to use their brain for anything but to push some buttons and get correct answers to any problem. This is scary because kids today are graduating high school with no knowledge whatsoever if they’re caught without their computer to answer for them. This dumbing down of our youth will be the destruction of our society through the use of things such as AI. AI won’t be to blame per se, it will be the fault of parents that don’t raise their kids to use their brains, and the best way to do that is to homeschool.”
